Team Fortress 2 is some crazy, backstabbing fun
I tried out Team Fortress 2 when I got the Orange Box on Xbox, but there weren’t many people playing and the game seemed way too crazy to learn without help. TF2 just went free to play on Steam, so I decided to try it again and give it a whirl. It definitely still is crazy, but a good kind of crazy. Medic!
Is PC Gaming really dead with such strong titles like these?
cmfl3x’s article this week had me thinking more about computer gaming lately. Not so long ago, I felt that a lot of game companies decided that they wanted to move towards the console market due to the inherent piracy involved with computer gaming. Yet today, computer gaming is stronger than ever. I’d love to use the term PC gaming instead of computer gaming, but the truth of the matter is, companies like Valve and Blizzard have really been supporting Mac gaming.
The current gaming landscape on the computer is strong enough that I could take a vacation from both my 360 and PS3 and still be quite entertained. Hit the jump for what I consider the games that are keeping computer gaming still relevant in this supposed “console age”.
World of Warcraft & Team Fortress 2 continue to give PC gamers updates
It’s interesting for me to see the “evolution” of the PC gaming landscape. Growing up on Doom, Quake, and Duke Nukem, I’ve lived through the rise and decline of the PC gaming scene, from the introduction of first person shooters, real-time strategy games, online multiplayer, 4X strategy games, and now MMORPGs. If you’ve also grown up with fond memories of Doom & Quake, I highly recommend checking out the book, Masters of Doom. It’s a well-written book that chronicles how John Romero and John Carmack met, formed id Software, and completely shook up the gaming industry. Having said that, today’s entry will contain my more general thoughts on the PC gaming landscape, and why I’m still excited for its present and future.
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One of my friends asked me last night if I was going to trade in Halo 3: ODST now that I had the 1000 in it. He was saying it gets something like $35, which is pretty good considering we ended up getting it for around that (or even less) when it first came out. In the past, I used to trade in practically any game I got all the Achievements I wanted in and moved onto the next game in my queue.
Over just this past year alone, I’ve started winding down on my gaming tendencies (yes, it’s hard to believe but I’m less hardcore today than I was years ago), and actually started missing games I had gotten rid of. So I started rebuying games that I knew I would want to replay again at some point, just for fun. Looking at my 360 collection today, I’ve realized that more than half of the games I currently own I’ve sold and reacquired.
Nowadays, I’ve decided that no matter how good of a deal it is to trade in/sell a game that I enjoyed, I won’t get rid of it since the amount of work it takes to reaquire the game just doesn’t make up for the nice little “deal” I got when I sold it. What majorly sucks is that several of the games I end up wanting to reacquire turn into Platinum Hits titles, and I hate that design. Therefore, I’m forced to scour used game bins or find people online to buy from that can get me non-platinum hits versions that are not all scratched like crazy. I feel like I’m in some sort of game rebuying netherworld where I’m paying for my mistakes. I owned these games in mint condition and now I’m spending time trying to track these same games down that will no way be in as good condition as when I owned them. Why couldn’t I just have been happy with my original copies and not sell them in the first place?
Currently, I’ve been spending the last few weeks trying to rebuy the following games:
Mass Effect – I actually want to replay through this before playing the sequel coming out early next year, but the tough part is of course finding a non-platinum hits version in great condition.
Assassin’s Creed – Like Mass Effect, I do want to play this game again before the sequel releases next month but have to find a non-platinum hits version in great condition.
Fable 2 – Platinum hits was announced to be released in January, so I still have time to reacquire this game and I know I will want to play through it again before Fable 3 releases.
The Orange Box – I actually have cravings from time to time to play Team Fortress 2, and while I own it on the PC, people on the PC are too hardcore (clans and whatnot) so I just want to play it casually with my 360 controller. Plus, I figure I will want to play Portal again from time to time.
Once I successfully repick up these titles, I’ll only have a few left to go. Good thing I didn’t sell Halo Wars since I do have cravings to play that game too. In any case, that’s my simple warning to you – if you feel like at some point you may want to replay a game (just because it was amazing, you’ll miss it, or a future sequel gets you to want to replay its predecessor, etc.), consider holding onto it. I want to spare you this ordeal that I’m going through today…
The stock market has dropped below 7000 points, people have less disposable income, and video game studios all over the country are filing for bankruptcy or shutting down altogether. Though video games have been touted as “recession-proof”, that really isn’t the case; consumers are buying less titles and taking less risks, staying away from question marks and sticking to sure-fire franchises.
In this first of a two part feature, espion4ge and I have compiled a list of our favorite mainstream titles that you can get under $30 now. If you’re trying to save money and haven’t played these games yet, I’d definitely recommend picking some of them up. In many cases you can buy two of these games for the price of one new title today so if you’ve missed out on some of them, there are great deals to be had.
Between now and Sunday 3/15/09, all Reward Zone members can print out a coupon to receive $20 off on any of the following titles:
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Premier Edition
Crysis
Crysis Warhead
EA Sports 08 Collection
FIFA Soccer 09
The Orange Box
Since all of the titles retail for $29.99 each, that makes them $9.99 after coupon. You only need one coupon and it is good for all of the games in one transaction, but not more than 3 of one title. Use the in-store locator to find games you’re looking for, as the deal is only good in-store and requires a Reward Zone membership and the coupon print out. Reward Zone membership is free and you can sign up right on the website.
For those worried about DRM on some games like Red Alert 3 and Crysis Warhead, EA released patches to allow you to deauthorize the DRM on the games so you can have your installs back. In short, the games are still worth picking up for $10 each if you are interested.
I picked up Crysis & Crysis Warhead last night myself (Crysis still even had the $49.99 sticker on it but rang up for $29.99). I was considering double dippping on the PC version of Red Alert 3 as well, but it wasn’t in stock at my local Best Buy.
$20 Off Select PC Games coupon [Best Buy Reward Zone]
Street Fighter IV (360) – Is the game serious? Am I supposed to go through all Challenge modes with every single character if I want to get all the titles/badges? Dang that’s going to take forever. I’m doing Time Trials now, and it doesn’t make sense to me that if I lose to opponent 14 with time remaining, I can’t continue. It’s Time Trial, not Survival mode after all. -_-
Mercenaries 2 (360) – Heard the game was sort of glitchy, but for $9.99 at Best Buy this week it was cheap enough to throw into my backlog.
The Orange Box (PC) – I wanted to pick up Team Fortress 2 for the PC since it continues to keep getting new content and maps, but didn’t want to pay $20 for it. I was hoping Valve would put it on sale on Steam for half price like they did with Left 4 Dead, but when I found it for The Orange Box for $15 at Circuit City during its liquidation this past weekend, I sprang for it. Then what happens? Team Fortress 2 goes on sale for $10 during the week right after I just bought Orange Box. I would have preferred to just buy that instead but what can you do.
Company of Heroes (PC) – Also at the same Circuit City liquidation, I was able to find Company of Heroes Collector’s Edition for a little under $10. I remember playing this game years ago but lost my copy so I sprang for it again. I can’t really remember the mechanics behind it, but I certainly enjoyed it. I figure it’ll be good training for Dawn of War 2.
Infinite Undiscovery (360) – The majority of my gaming time for the last month has been spent playing this title, but now that I’m on the hardest difficulty playthrough, there is light at the end of the tunnel! I’m putting together a guide to Infinity mode as I play through it as well.
To celebrate the new free Scout update on the PC version of Team Fortress II, Valve has put it on sale for $9.99 on Steam from now until Friday. This new update brings new weapons, maps, and 35 Achievements for the Scout class alone! Expect others classes to follow. Also of note is the new Dawn of War II game on sale for $35.90 as part of GoGamer’s Madness sale. Ugh…my backlog now extends to PC games too -_-
Team Fortress II [$9.99 Steam]
Warhammer 40k Dawn of War II [$35.90 w/ free shipping GoGamer]
The Orange Box looks to be a great value – provided you don’t mind the dated feel of the three Half-Life 2 games.
I haven’t written up a review in a while, and that’s most likely because I’ve been spending a good chunk of game time playing both Call of Duty 4 and Rock Band multiplayer. And now with my attention slowly switching over to Devil May Cry 4 and Bladestorm (not to mention going to go pick up Lost Odyssey after work tonight), I don’t know when I’ll actually be able to go back and finish all of the single player Achievements of The Orange Box. I will someday though – I’ve gone through a pretty sizeable chunk of the game already: completed Half-Life 2, Episode 1, and I beat the regular “campaign” of Portal. All I plan to do next is complete Episode 2 (should I just suck it up and try to complete all the annoying Achievements), spend a bit more time messing around with Team Fortress 2, and finish off the rest of the Portal Achievements before calling it quits on The Orange Box.
